Definition of Contemporary Art

Contemporary art confuses many people because they do not understand the new meaning or foundation of art. In the 1920's art changed from color and form semiotics to new contextual applications. To wit, Man Ray recontextualized a urinal into art by photographing one he had bought from industrial supplies manufacturer J. R. Mott in New York City, on which he had painted: "R. Mutt,1917". Today much of what is deemed art is recycled minutiae from our industrialized society.
Because traditional art forms (painting, sculpture, photography and others) have become an expensive proposition, thrift stores, junk yards and the street have replaced art stores as the suppliers of artists' compositional materials. Instead of canvas, film or stone, we have strategically placed piles of dirt or junk around a gallery floor; or a street form of artistic expression, grafitti on the wall of a business juxtaposed next to a traditional graphic illustration of the business' name. Today, in a nod to the 'hipness' of grafitti, grafitti has become an acceptable form of graphic illustration.